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GGood morning, I’m back! And I can hardly believe all the news that happened while I was away. On vacation my biggest concern was a broken milkshake machine at a McDonald’s along the highway. Why are they always broken??
(Addendum: Editors know things! Mine just sent me this story in the Edge on an update on the ‘right to repair’ issues that have long plagued McDonald’s franchisees and their machines.)
RFK Jr. is exploring a GOP proposal to roll back the way doctors are paid
People close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stand are exploring a proposal that would reduce the American Medical Association’s role in determining what Medicare pays for medical services, four sources familiar with the process told STAT’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang. The AMA leads a panel of physicians who make Medicare recommendations on how much services should cost. The proposal, which is still in its early stages, would take this influence away from the main doctors’ lobby.
It’s not a new idea; Such proposals have been put forward regularly by Republicans over the past two decades but have never been implemented. RFK Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has criticized the influence of big companies in healthcare. He has also spoken to the AMA in the past about his views on vaccines.
Read Rachel’s scoop. And in other RFK Jr. news, don’t miss STAT’s Ed Silverman’s Pharmalot View on how unraveling the relationship between the FDA and industry could actually make America sick again.
23%
That’s the percentage of U.S. adults under age 65 who had year-round health insurance in 2024 but were considered underinsured — meaning the coverage effectively did not give them access to affordable health care, based on their income and out-of-pocket costs and premiums . The statistic comes from a nationally representative survey of the Commonwealth Fund. Nearly three in 10 working-age adults had medical debt, the report found, with rates highest among those who were underinsured. Two-thirds of underinsured people got their health coverage from their employers.
“Having health insurance does not always mean access to affordable, timely care,” Joseph Betancourt, a physician and chairman of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a media briefing yesterday. The number of people uninsured is at an “historic low,” Betancourt said, but still “too many Americans are struggling to afford the care they need.” If you want to delve into the nitty gritty of hospitals and healthcare costs, make sure you subscribe to Bob Herman’s weekly Health Care Inc. newsletter.
Science Twitter migrates to Bluesky
Ten years ago, science entered its “extreme online age,” as STAT’s Katie Palmer puts it. Academics who were traditionally in niche domains gained unprecedented followers on Twitter. Now Twitter is called X, and many of those scientists are leaving the site for Bluesky, a similar social media platform founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. It’s hard to say exactly how many people made the switch, but the total number of accounts on Bluesky surpassed 20 million this week, including many of X’s most followed science, medical, and health policy accounts.
‘People have said we should stay [on X] because if we all leave, it will all be wrong information,” microbiologist and research sleuth Elisabeth Bik told Katie. “But at some point the pendulum swung the other way.” Read more about who is taking steps, who is not, and what this means for science communication in the future.
Needles are out, squid jets are in
When figuring out the best way to deliver medications to patients, tradeoffs must be made. Methods like IVs are great for getting a drug into someone’s bloodstream, but require both time and a trained doctor. Pills and other oral methods are easier to use, but do not always work well. Now a group of bioengineers are hoping to shake up the cast of drug delivery options with a device that draws inspiration from squids, octopuses and other sea creatures.
The blueberry-sized device can be swallowed to deliver oral medications that normally require injection through a needle. It then uses jets, modeled after the organs that squids and other cephalopods use to propel themselves through water and release ink, to inject drugs into the tissue lining the digestive tract. It’s an innovative idea with the simple goal of making it easier for patients to receive medications. STAT’s Anil Oza has more about the device and the results so far.
Research shows: endometriosis linked to earlier deaths
A growing body of evidence has shown that endometriosis (where tissue like that from the inside of the uterus grows on the outside) and uterine fibroids are linked to an increased risk of long-term chronic disease. A study published yesterday in The BMJ provides evidence for a more extreme potential link: among more than 110,000 cisgender women, endometriosis was associated with a 31% higher risk of death before age 70, mainly caused by gynecological cancers. Uterine fibroids have also been associated with a higher risk of death, particularly from gynecological cancers.
Researchers analyzed data from nurses who participated in a survey study that ran from 1989 to 2019. Participants were between 25 and 42 years old at the start of the study and reported diagnoses of endometriosis or uterine fibroids every few years. The authors noted that most participants were white, but felt that the large population and long-term results were still useful.
Britain says Cheerio to disposable vapes
Britain will ban disposable vapes from next summer, STAT’s Drew Joseph reports from London. It is part of a wider policy action that will deter anyone currently aged 15 or under ever can buy tobacco products, with the aim of creating what the government has called a ‘smoke-free Britain’
The phaseout is a bolder move than anything we’ve seen here in the US, where thousands of vapes are widely available, even though the vast majority are technically illegal and haven’t received the legal permission that every e-cigarette for sale , should have. It’s an example of how the two countries diverge in their approaches to e-cigarettes – and their views on the threats and potential benefits associated with the products. Read more from Drew.
What we read
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The bombing of Gaza worsens superbug outbreaks, Bureau of Investigative Journalism
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Trump promises clean tap water. Will he clean up ‘forever chemicals’? New York Times
- It took years for my black son to be diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Then it happened to my family again, STAT
- Whatever happened to Nashville’s Center for Reproductive Health? The cut
- Don’t expect RFK Jr. and dr. Oz will get a lot done in the field of prevention and wellness, STAT